Hidden figure
by cliffertje
Summary: He had let Sasuke go on his quest for his older brother, Itachi, hoping that he would find him instead.


This story starts at the first fight between Naruto and Sasuke at the valley of the end, and spins off from there. I still do need an editor!

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Sasuke stood on top of the statue, watching him, and in return, he watched Sasuke.

For a moment, he did nothing. He watched as the rage swirled in those black eyes, the hate he couldn't take from Sasuke. He saw the determination he saw in his own every day when he looked in the mirror and knew that Sasuke would either die or leave today. There was no way he would come back alive. He could understand why.

He had seen Sasuke walking through the streets, watching parents with their children. At first, there only was this great grief and longing for someone to fill the hole his dead family had left. But there was also this seed of hate, planted by Itachi, that grew day by day. He had tried to give Sasuke an outlet by challenging him. He had shown tried to show Sasuke he still had a family when they had become closer later on.

But now, looking into Sasuke's eyes, he knew that is wasn't enough. Sasuke had to sort things out with Itachi before he could heal again.

He frowned, then ran forwards and threw the first kunai. After that, he went on the defense for a while. Watching kunai coming towards him, then the fire and finally Sasuke himself in his rage.

"What are you waiting for?" Sasuke screamed at him before charging at him once again.

He could hear the chirping sounds of a starting Chidori and started his own Rasengan. He wouldn't answer him, Sasuke knew the answer. Sasuke should know the answer. Whatever happened, he would never seriously harm Sasuke. He had promised after all. Besides, Sasuke, the small little boy that had once smiled was long gone.

The attacks clashed, and they were thrown apart. He felt his back hit the water first before he rolled further and let his concentration slip. His foot lost its grip on the water and he felt himself sink. For a few seconds, he let the cool water slide over his body before the climbed on the surface once again. Nobody would ever see the tears in his eyes as water dripped from his hair onto his face. Still, Sasuke could see the desperate look on the blonde's face and narrowed his eyes.

"You are weak, Naruto," he spat out, "just like everybody in that village. You can't stop me."

Instead of answering, the blond just charged forwards. The first bits of the demons chakra began to flow through his system. He felt the heath, the hate and the disgust with the man before him. He had known how far Sasuke had fallen but never seen it in in all its glory. His heart ached. He wondered how it could be possible that the two of them seemed so different. How he had survived yet Sasuke had seemed to perish when faced with the hardship. He asked himself what he could say, to show Sasuke that not all was lost.

"You are not alone, Sasuke," he almost whispered, and then louder he continued: "You still family in the village."

Sasuke's eyes widened for a second before he turned to him fully.

"Who?" he half laughed, "You?"

But even before he could answer, Sasuke's markings grew beyond his face. His eyes changed from red to a deep black with purple irises. A second Chidori came to live in his hands.

"You are no family of mine, Naruto. You aren't even a friend but just a death last I had to deal with."

Sasuke sprinted towards him, the intent to kill on his face. Had it been the same with Itachi, he wondered. Had Itachi worn the same look of pain when he killed his mother, then his father and after that the rest Uchiha he came across? Had there been something inside him, screaming for him to stop the bloodshed?

The clash was different this time. His own aim was slightly of to the right, while Sasuke's was spot on. He looked into his brother's eyes, knowing it would be long before he would see the other again, knowing where Sasuke was headed and the path full of pain and hate he was walking down. Yet, there was nothing he could do anymore. Sasuke, in some way, needed to face this and he couldn't help him. Sasuke hadn't wanted to give him part of the burden, nor had he wanted to let him in. Sasuke's path had been chosen for him the moment Itachi had looked at Sasuke, blood splattered across the older one's face.

There were a lot of things he might never understand. This wasn't one of them. He knew why Itachi had done what he had done, though he could not tell Sasuke. The damage of the truth would be greater than the lie at this moment. Sasuke just could not forgive. He needed blood for the blood of his family.

He closed his eyes. The demons chakra was already healing his lungs. He could still feel Sasuke's presence. The chakra was frantically swirling inside him, never resting but always moving.

"How weak," he heard him mutter. "How did you ever even defeat Gaara if this is all you can do?"

He smiled weakly in return. Sasuke had always been blind, even more so than the others.

"I will come for you, Sasuke," he promised.

Sasuke took a step back at the answer, gave him a look and then clenched his jaw.

"You really don't understand, do you? I need to go, Naruto, I need to avenge my family."

he kept his eyes shut, not wanting to see the feelings in Sasuke's eyes he wouldn't be able to hide.

"We are the same, Sas-"

He was picked up and thrown to the other side, a kick quickly following.

"No, we are not! You never even had a family," Sasuke screamed at him, kicking him even harder so that he was lifted into the air slightly.

"We are the same, Sasuke", he repeated. His breath was coming in short and blood fillings his airways. "We have always been. You are not the only one who lost his family."

He started coughing and an iron taste filled his mouth. He still laid on the ground and didn't feel the need to move anymore. Blood landed on the floor and then he started gasping for air. Sasuke watched him curl up on himself, blood running from both the lethal wound on his chest and his mouth. His breaths became even more rigged, his longs burned.

"I will find you, Sasuke, and bring you home" he rasped out, then he went slack.

Sasuke scoffed at the blonde, a kunai already drawn.

"I have no home," was the bitter reply.

The kunai cut into his hand while he watched the unmoving body. Then he put it back into his pockets, and disappeared.


End file.
